According to CNN, a Physical Therapist is ranked #4 in the top 100 best jobs in America. Their job is to rehabilitate patients from
either accidents or disabilities. Physical Therapy is one of many different kinds of therapy. Some other examples would be:
Occupational Therapy, Respiratory Therapy, Speech Therapy, etc... The average salary for a Physical Therapist is $92,000 per
year. The lowest in this occupation is around $57,000 and the highest is $92,000. The job of a Physical Therapist is in high
demand and would be a great field to look into. For Physical Therapists, there are all sorts of promotions and different titles that
you can gain. MPT - Master of Physical Therapy, DPT - Doctor of Physical Therapy, MSPT - Master of Science in Physical
Therapy, PhD - Philosophy Doctor in Physical Therapy.
Education
In order to work as a Physical Therapist, one must first graduate from a physical therapist educational program with a master's or doctoral degree. Coursework
includes biology, chemistry, and physics, as well as specialized courses such as biomechanics, neuroanatomy, human growth and development, manifestations of
disease, examination techniques, and therapeutic procedures. The top 10 schools for Physical Therapy are:
University of Southern California; Los Angeles, CA
Before you can become a Physical Therapist, you must also pass a National and State licensing examination. You could also become a Physical Therapy Assistant
before deciding to take on the full job.
A Day in the Life of a Physical Therapist
Physical Therapists provide services that restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain, and prevent or limit permanent physical disabilities. On a typical day a
physical therapist will: Examine patients' medical histories; Test and measure the patients' strength, range of motion, balance and coordination, posture, muscle
performance, respiration, and motor function; Determine patients' ability to be independent and reintegrate into the community or workplace after injury or illness;
Develop treatment plans describing a treatment strategy, its purpose, and its anticipated outcome. They will also work with patients on exercises and activities to
strengthen muscles, improve mobility, and relieve pain. They will generally record the strength and range of motion the first time they see a patient and add more
records as they progress so as to look for improvements. A key requirement to being a Physical Therapist is that you have to be willing to move patients directly.
I interviewed my Physical Therapist whom I have been working with over the course of my injury. Here are my questions and her responses:
Physical Therapy Interview
For how long have you been a Physical Therapist?
I have been a Physical Therapist for almost 28 years.
What inspired you to become a PT?
I wanted to have a good education so that I could get a good job, I wanted to do something science related, and be able to work with people. I also wanted to have a job that not everyone can have—is unique to me.
What kind of education did you have?
I earned my Pre-PT at UWSP, my PT degree at UW Texas Medical Branch, and earned my Doctoral degree at Des Moines University in 2010.
Did you originally want to be something other than a PT?
Yes. I started out wanting to be a paper scientist, but then discovered that I wanted to work with people more.
Where all have you worked?
I have worked at a hospital in Oshkosh, in Richmond, Virginia, Kimberly Clark, in Stevens Point at PT and Associates.
Is there a certain dress code that you have to follow?
Just casual business clothes.
What is your typical day like?
I see patients every 40 minutes. There is paperwork that must be done and occasional projects.
About how many patients do you see every day?
I see anywhere between 8-14 patients in a day.
What is the most common injury that you have patients come to you with?
The most common is probably low back pain.
What is your favorite type of injury to work with?
I like working with a variety of injuries but mostly more orthopedic ones.
What are the ups and downs of a being a Physical Therapist?
The ups for me are being able to establish relationships with my patients and watching how they improve over time. The downs are having to work with insurance companies
and doing all of the paperwork.
Do you ever have to travel for your job?
I travel occasionally for meetings.
Have you ever had to see a Physical Therapist yourself?
I have. I had to see one for my neck and then again for arthritis in my thumb.
Do you have any goals for the future?
I guess some of my goals for the future are to continue to learn as much as I can about PT so that I can better help my patients. I may try to become an “Orthopedic Clinical
Specialist” and I hope to become more involved again in my professional association. I have served on the board of directors for the Wisconsin Physical Therapy Association
and was a chairperson for our district. I also was on the conference committee until last year. So, getting back into some type of leadership or volunteer service is important.
Have you ever had a patient who has really surprised you by recovering from a serious injury and surpassed the doctor’s expectations?
I cannot recall having anyone that was (for example) paralyzed and then able to walk again when the doctors did not expect them to. However, on a smaller scale, I have seen
lots of patients with pretty serious injuries (from falls or car accidents) that through a lot of hard work are able to get back to their normal lives again.
Vocabulary: Common Terms
As patients work to gain their range of motion back, the different stretches and movements of the body all have special names. Here is a list of some different
movements and how exactly they work:
Pronation – is a rotational movement of the forearm at the radiulnar joint. Pronation will move the palm of the hand from an anterior-facing position to a posterior-
facing position without an associated movement at the shoulder.
Supination – Is a position of either the forearm or foot; in the forearm when the palm faces interiorly, or faces up (when the arms are unbent and at the sides).
Flexion – either a bending movement around a joint in a limb (as the knee or elbow) that decreases the angle between the bones of the limb at the joint or a forward raising of the arm or leg by a movement at the shoulder or hip joint.
Extension – The act of extending ones arm, leg, etc… that increases the angle between the bones of the limb at the joint.
Static Stretching – when you pull a limb to its end point, without hurting yourself, and hold it for anywhere between about 20 and 60 seconds. This kind of stretching will help you to overcome stretch reflex. Stretch reflex is when your body tightens up once you reach a stretch. After you hold it for a certain amount of time, your body will begin to relax and give into the stretch.
Dynamic stretching – this form of stretching is when you take a muscle or joint through its full range of flexibility. It helps to warm up your body and reduce muscle tension.
Passive Stretching – This kind of stretching is very similar to Static stretching only instead of being able to do it alone, it is when someone else holds the stretch for you and will push you to go a little bit farther.
Reps – this is determined by how many times you go through a single motion such as doing one push up.
Sets – This is a group of reps. Lets say you do 12 reps and then take a break. This would equal one set.
There are also many other terms used in the PT world and other terms that may be useful to know as well. Here they are:
Scar Tissue – The connective tissue that forms a scar; consists of fibroblasts in new scars and collagen fibers in old scars.
Incision – a surgical cut in the skin or flesh.
Ultrasound – A machine used to break up scar tissue and to allow more room for mobility.
Injuries and the Recovery Process
There are all sorts of injuries and disabilities that patients may have but some of the most common are:
Burns
Amputations
Stroke
Vertigo
Low Back Pain
Arthritis
Knee Replacement
Heart Disease
Fractures
Head Injuries (concussion)
Cerebral Palsy
During our project, my group and I have planned to use an injury that I have as an example. Under this heading, I am going to explain what it is that I went through and
what the recovery process has been like for me:
Last spring, on May 8, I broke my left elbow while playing soccer: I broke my radius, ulna, birth plate, stretched my ulnar nerve, and on top of all that I dislocated my
elbow. All it really was is bad luck because I landed right on top of it. He game was being played in Wisconsin Rapids so an ambulance picked me up and took me to
the hospital there. They put an ivy in my right arm to help ease the pain and put my arm in between two boards connected with this band thing to keep my arm still.
My mom was right by my side through it all. When I arrived at the hospital, the people in the Emergency Room took x-rays of my arm. That took the longest half-hour
or so of my life! My arm hurt so much and I was just so scared. They told me, or rather my mom and I just went with it, that I would have to be taken to Madison to
see a specialist. And so I rode down to Madison in an ambulance.
That night the doctors popped my arm back into place. It was by far the weirdest experience I have ever had. They didn’t put me all the way to sleep so I could kind of
tell what was going on, but I didn’t feel anything. It was just plain weird. After I was fully awake again and my arm was no longer dislocated, there was a lot less pain. I
spent the night in the hospital with my mom. The next morning I had surgery and my dad drove down to be able to be with me. During the surgery a surgeon fixed me
up and put a screw in my arm to hold everything in place while it healed. I was really scared beforehand but everything turned out to be just fine. While I was still in the
hospital recovering from surgery I had some of the silliest nurses. I have to say: They might even be sillier than Mr. Mlsna!!! They were great because they were able to
make me smile despite the situation. I was especially fortunate because I used to live in Madison so some old friends of mine came to see me.
Before I was able to be sent home I had to be able to:
Eat something without getting sick
Be able to walk around a bit
Be able to get up and go to the bathroom
Once I had accomplished these I was sent home. My arm wasn’t in a cast, but it was all rapped up and stuff. They didn’t put a cast on me yet because my arm was
really swollen and they don’t want it to be too tight or loose. The next week or so I spent at home resting. Two weeks later I went back to Madison and they
unwrapped my arm. It felt so weak and hurt once the support was taken away but it also felt good to be able to get a bit of fresh air. Then they put a cast on. I chose
the color PINK! They put a cotton sleeve over my arm before winding the pink strips up my arm. It comes really warm and flexible so it is easy to manipulate and then
they hold it firmly while it dries to be really hard.
About two weeks after that, I went back to Madison to get the cast taken off. They use this saw cutter thing that sounds like a really loud vacuum. It has a blade about
3 or 4 inches long that swings back and forth really fast. The way it is made, it will only cut through materials that it can grip onto and not skin. If you touch the blade
with your finger when it is on, it won’t to a thing to you. When they cut off the cast, it gripped onto the material it begins to break it apart. After they stopped the
machine and had pried the cast the rest of the way off of my arm, my arm felt like it was still vibrating from the impact! Next they put another cast on me (this time I
chose green) only to have it cut right back off again. They wanted only half of the cast so they would be able to make a removable splint for me. Yay!!! I would now be
able to take a bath without having to wrap my arm up in a plastic bag! I would actually be able to soak my arm in warm water too! And so I spent my summer going
through this whole mess. As I was becoming comfortable with my arm out of the splint I began Physical Therapy. This is what my summer consisted of:
PT Stretches
Eating
Sleeping
Going to go see the Physical Therapist
Swimming
Reading
And more PT Stretches
At the end of the summer I went in for an outpatient surgery to get my screw removed from my arm. They even gave it to me after they cleaned it off!
It was especially hard for me when school started because I had to learn to write with my less dominate hand: my right hand, since I was still working on gaining
strength and mobility in my left hand and arm. Right before Christmas I had another surgery because the doctors realized that there was extra bone growth were my
arm had healed after taking a MRI of my arm. The MRI machine was this really big, white tube that takes pictures of injuries from a different angle. After the surgery, I
spent that weekend recovering and then started up with intense PT. I had to go every single day except on the weekends and my mom and I tried to fit in 8 or 9
stretching sessions a day at home on our own. I am still working to this very day to be able to get my full range of motion back. The doctor said that I should just keep
working at it. One thing he has learned about elbows is: They don’t really like to be messed with and if I just keep persisting, it might let up a bit. He doesn’t expect
me to get back a full range of motion, but I am going to try to get as close to that as I possibly can.
Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI Metropolitan Division
$53,000
$78,140
$104,980
Madison, WI
$57,080
$74,500
$105,400
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI
$56,160
$72,080
$93,510
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
$55,350
$68,100
$85,080
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI
$57,700
$77,460
$121,770
Racine, WI
$54,840
$73,940
$91,920
Rockford, IL
$54,120
$74,920
$96,410
Sheboygan, WI
$29,850
$70,050
$120,100
Wausau, WI
$16,990
$73,170
$98,980
Eastern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area
$53,620
$70,450
$90,540
West Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area
$60,230
$74,870
$91,630
South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area
$48,440
$75,650
$97,600
Southwestern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area
$57,960
$72,840
$93,960
Northern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area
$45,470
$77,670
$103,070
Appleton, WI
$57,120
$78,290
$91,930
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL Metropolitan Division
$51,040
$79,950
$118,170
Duluth, MN-WI
$52,780
$70,120
$89,560
Eau Claire, WI
$50,590
$70,950
$87,990
Fond du Lac, WI
$57,270
$71,400
$91,290
Salary Notes
An individual employee's position within this salary range is affected by the following factors:
the institution type and location
the employee's training, education, experience, and job responsibility.
Most employers offer standard fringe benefits such as paid vacation and sick leave, health insurance, and retirement plans. The self-employed determine their own benefits.
Salary does not include premium pay for overtime, work on weekends, holidays or late shifts.
Factors Affecting Employment:
Employment is affected by the age and general health of the population, the funding of services by insurance plans and government programs, and advances in medical technologies.
Wisconsin Employment Info
Number Employed in 2008: 4,520
Expected Employment in 2018: 5,260
Percent Expected Employment Growth, 10 years: 16%
Expected Annual Openings, Growth and Turnover: 130
Source: Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
Education
Students should take courses that meet college entrance requirements. Helpful high school courses would include Anatomy and Physiology, Biology, Chemistry, and Geometry.
Physical therapists must have a bachelor's degree in physical therapy. Many employers require applicants to have completed a six-month clinical internship. Most physical therapists complete this clinical internship as a component in a master's degree program. Physical therapists must be licensed in the state where they are employed. A doctoral degree is required for university faculty positions.
Employers contact colleges for qualified applicants. Some advertise position openings in newspapers and professional publications. They also hire qualified individuals who apply to them directly. Government positions are posted in civil service listings.
Experienced physical therapists may become chief physical therapists, department supervisors, or move into hospital management. Some specialize in areas such as sports medicine or early intervention specialists who work with infants from birth to three years of age. Others contract their services to individual clients.
A Day in the Life of a physical therapist...
"I've always been interested in medicine," says physical therapist Robyn Pester. "I grew up on a farm and originally I wanted to be a veterinarian. I would catch injured animals and nurse them back to health. I also played lots of sports, so I was very interested in athletic training."
"When I was in high school, I read a magazine article about athletic trainers. I learned that it involved medicine, sports and working with athletes. At the time, those three things were what I loved most," Pester says.
Before she became a physical therapist, Pester attended the University of Montana, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Health & Physical Education with an emphasis on athletic training. She became a professional athletic trainer in 1986, working at a high school and later in a sports medicine clinic.
According to Pester, athletic trainers have a number of responsibilities involving the prevention, evaluation and treatment of athletic injuries. They also help athletes maintain their health by providing them with nutritional counseling and rehabilitation, strength and flexibility programs.
Pester enjoyed her work as a trainer, but decided to pursue a career in physical therapy after working alongside physical therapists at the sports medicine clinic.
"I liked the fact that physical therapists not only treated sports injuries, but other types of injuries as well," she says. What intrigued her was their "joint mobilization" and "soft tissue mobilization" techniques, which "are very effective in decreasing a patient's pain and restoring the range of motion to an injured limb."
She returned to college and earned a bachelor's degree in Physical Therapy in 1994. Now, as a physical therapist, her patients range from "people with specific problems such as back, ankle or knee injuries, to elite athletes, to those suffering from neurological diseases such Parkinson's disease. I also see a variety of ages."
When examining a patient, Pester looks for "functional relationships," such as the connection between different joints in the leg. "People frequently complain of pain in a particular area, like in their ankle or knee," she says. "If you only treat that area, you're not always successful. You've got to look at them bio-mechanically and be a detective."
For example, if she's treating a patient with a knee problem, she may ask the patient to squat so she can observe rotation not only at the knee, but also the hip and ankle. She also feels the joints and muscles as patients move them to determine which areas are the most painful.
"If I were to assume it's just a knee problem, I might target all of my treatment just at the knee," she says. "But I may find that it's actually the hip joint that isn't moving correctly. If I treat the hip joint, it will help the knee because of all the muscular and ligamentous connections between the two joints. You constantly have to be thinking of the relationships between different areas of the body."
"Good thinking skills are important," Pester says. "Especially being able to think three-dimensionally, because you have to visualize the body from all different angles."
Good listening skills are important when a patient describes his or her symptoms. It's also helpful to remember that a patient's injuries can have emotional as well as physical effects. "You may have a patient who seems hostile or sad because of their condition, but don't take it personally. It's quite frustrating to have an injury," she says, adding that the best way to break the ice is to be sympathetic and understanding. "Present yourself in a manner that is professional but also calm, warm and comforting so you can make people feel safe."
Pester enjoys seeing a change in her patients as they become healthier. "It's nice because once you put the patient at ease, you can see them begin to blossom as they come out of their pain," she says. "You might be working with someone who's very crabby when their treatment begins, but as you start to help them feel better, you've got this wonderful person who ends up being in your life for years."
Pester typically works from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. She usually sees seven or eight patients a day and treats them for one hour at a time. She also spends eight to ten hours a week on insurance-related paperwork.
Pester believes the best introduction to a physical therapy career is to get a firsthand look at what professionals do. "You could call a physical therapist and ask if you can come in to observe their work," she says, adding that it's often possible to set up appointments with the help of high school counselors. For college students who are already studying physical therapy, an internship or practicum that involves more hands-on work is an effective way to gain some experience.
A master's degree in physical therapy is now usually required to become a professional, according to Pester. To prepare for a master's program, "it's important to have a strong science background and to be familiar with the body's anatomy, or you're really going to struggle," she says. "Biology, zoology, exercise and movement science, or anything in the sciences will be really helpful in getting started."
Key Vocabulary/Terms
Physical Therapy-
Physical therapy is used to help control/improve a number of chronic conditions like Arthritis, Back pain, types of neck pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, and other chronic conditions. Physical therapists also educate people on the importance of body mechanics and proper posture, and use a number of ways to help people improve or restore their balance, range of motion, coordination, mobility, strength, flexibility and endurance.
BALANCE- state of body equilibrium. Equal disposition of weight.
Baps-Biomechanical Ankle Platform System that helps heal your ankle injuries.
COLD THERAPY- A type of therapy that can heal your back pain by applying cold packs and cold braces to the body.
DEBRIDEMENT- medical removal of dead,damaged or infected tissue to improve the health potential of the remaining tissue.
ELECTRODES-a conductor in which electric current can pass through that can be worn in a pack on your knee, back, or problem areas to help improve your muscle health.
ELECTROTHERAPY-is the use of electrical energyas a medical treatment. The term electrotherapy can apply to a variety of treatments, including the use of electrical devices such as deep brain stimulators for neurological disease.
EVALUATION-kind of like the check up. Your physical therapist would check you over and evaluate you, make sure that you are doing well.
EXERCISE-Activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness.
GAIT BELT- A gait belt is a device used to transfer people from one position to another or from one thing to another. For example you would use a gait belt to move a patient from a standing position to a wheelchair.
LUMBAR STABILITY-when the lower part of your back is stable, and well, but if the condition decreases then your back could start to hurt, and become weak and injured.
RANGE OF MOTION- Distance of a movable object, to see how far it can go according to the angle of the object, or a body part. Your arm has a full range of motion, but if you injure it, it can lose some of that range of motion and not be able or bend/move up and down all the way anymore.
THERAPY BALL-a big blow up ball that people with back or neck injuries can lay on and do all different types of exercises to help there conditions.
THERAPY BAND-a colorful stretchy band that you can use to help you recover during PT by stretching and doing specific exercises to accustom your body.
--> I couldn't get the actual research below double spaced, but I did get it on the attached documents above. My VOCABULARY heading and pictures are also attached above because I couldn't get them pasted here.
JOB OUTLOOK: Salary, promotions...etc.
On average a physical therapist works about 40 hours per week. An average yearly salary is about $60,000, but the national range is $53,000-$108,000 per year. Here, in Wisconsin the yearly salaries range from about $55,000 to $94,000 (of 2009.) These ranges may be affected by a person’s experience, education and location or institute. Once an entry level therapist you may get promoted to a median or even an advanced level therapist. An entry level physical therapist makes about $55,120 per year in Wisconsin, but nationally it’s a little lower at $53, 620. At median level in Wisconsin it is $73,420, nationally about $76,310. Finally, at the advanced experience level, you may earn up to $94,120 in Wisconsin, and $107,920 nationally per year.
EDUCATION
To be a “real” (or legal) physical therapist, you need to graduate a college with a Bachelor’s Degree or higher; you also need a granted license (different locations may require other Degrees in order to be accepted). Your academic experiences may also affect your ability to work in the physical therapy range. Some helpful classes to take while still in school are physiology, anatomy, biology, geometry, and chemistry. These will help you prepare for the responsibility. Some examples of your local employers could be hospitals, nursing homes, schools, clinics, and rehabilitation centers. Most therapists work in hospitals.
The best school to attend for physical therapy—according to Physical Therapy Schools Info assessment surveys—is the University of Southern California. The surveys concluded that this university offers the best programs and classes to take for physical therapy in the U.S. More info at http://physicaltherapyschoolsinfo.org/top-physical-therapy-schools/.
INJURIES & THE RECOVERY PROCESS
Physical therapy is a type of treatment that helps you when health problems make it difficult to move around and do everyday things. This treatment is normally expressed as different activities, exercises, and stretches that help your problem area. There are many forms of physical therapy that acquire to different issues such as back pain, tendon/ligament problems, muscular tears, spinal issues, arthritis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), other injuries and problems.
A physical therapist assists you with the treatment process to recovery. They may help or teach you with the exercises you perform that make it easier to do everyday things. A therapist may examine you and set up a plan according to your difficulties. He or she will then help you with your flexibility, stretches, endurance, balance, and pain. They will teach you the activities required for your well being so you can do them by yourself. Some techniques they may use to help are usage with water, heat, or cold to stimulate/calm your nerves. A third of adults 65 or older fall in the U.S. yearly. About 30% of those falls cause moderate to severe injuries. Physical therapy can help in reducing these numbers. PT helps patients regain their balance and/or range of motion to prevent these slips.
The best school to attend for physical therapy—according to Physical Therapy Schools Info assessment surveys—is University of Southern California. The surveys conclude that the university offers the best programs and classes to take for physical therapy in the U.S. More info at http://physicaltherapyschoolsinfo.org/top-physical-therapy-schools/.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PHYSICAL THERAPIST
While treating a patient, you want to examine not just the part of body needing treatment, but the entire area of the problem spot. Treating only to the area of pain or discomfort doesn’t always solve the problem. This is because the ligaments in our bodies connect joints so they kind of work together too. This, for example, means that if a patient has a knee problem a therapist may want to help them in stretching the entire leg parts to help the knee function better altogether. You always want to be thinking of the entire body parts’ relations to one another and view the body from all angles. AN INTERVIEW WITH REAL PHYSICAL THERAPIST—Matthew Scherer, Medical Specialist Corps, United States Army, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington D. C.
I chose this career because… “I chose to become a physical therapist because I wanted to promote wellness and spend time treating and interacting with my patients. Growing up, I always had an interest in science. I was greatly influenced by my parents. They pushed for achievement in academics and provided a good example of diligent work ethics. As I approached college, I had an interest in natural sciences and in medical school. However, I did not want a long period of schooling, as necessary with medical school. I wanted to promote wellness and work with patients sooner, rather than later. I thought that physical therapy might be in my future.”
My typical workday involves… “My typical workday at the Walter Reed Hospital is a long day involving the duties of an Army officer, patient responsibilities in the clinic, administrative tasks, personal physical fitness and leadership.”
Typical Day Schedule:
My day begins with a workout in the gym and physical training, which is required by the Army.
At 7 AM, on Monday and Thursdays, I evaluate outpatient ambulatory patients, and evaluate and treat primarily active duty military personnel.
At 9 AM, I begin work with patients in the amputee service, dealing largely with the war-wounded who have lost limbs due to blast injuries incurred overseas. Together we work to improve their gait, balance, and general conditioning. Each patient works about 3 hours per day on rehabilitation, including time with an occupational therapist. Our goal is to have the patient return to the physical condition they had before they were injured.
What I like best/least about my work… “What I like best about my work is to see the patients make progress toward their goals and improve their level of functional activity. As the patient progresses toward independence, I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment and a justification of my career choice. Fitness and wellness are important to me, and I know it will be part of my patients’ lives throughout their rehabilitation.”
“What I like least about my work are the long hours. There is so much to accomplish during the day. The long hours away from home can weigh heavily on my family. The rewards however, far outweigh the disadvantages. The toughest part is over - the 19 months I spent crunching out graduate work at Baylor. That was really tough!”
My career goal is to… My career goal is to stay in the Army and continue my education. I would like to have certification in neurological rehabilitation, and strength and conditioning coaching. I also plan to apply for graduate school through the military training opportunities. With a Ph.D. (doctor of philosophy) in physical therapy, I will be able to teach and train others. When my time in the military is complete, and my children have grown up, my wife and I would like to work abroad again. It may be with the Peace Corps or an organization needing a therapist with experience with amputee patients.
When I’m not working, I like to… “When I’m not working, I like to spend time with my wife and son. We love the out-of-doors and enjoy hiking with our dogs. Although I am very satisfied with my work in the hospital, my life would not be complete without opportunities to explore nature and learn new things.”
In praise of a liberal arts program… “I am an advocate for a liberal arts education. It develops a well-rounded individual who is able to communicate effectively and is ready to explore life’s many opportunities. Physical therapy training is possible regardless of your undergraduate degree. The prerequisites can be gained whenever the student is ready to focus on the goal. My advice to students is to see a lot, do a lot, and as a result, make a better career choice.” More of this interview at:http://science.education.nih.gov/LifeWorks.nsf/Interviews/Matthew+Scherr
PHYSICAL THERAPY RESEARCH
Key Terms/Concepts = HeadingsMary McDonald
Visuals:
Information:
Job Outlook: Salary, Promotions, etc…
According to CNN, a Physical Therapist is ranked #4 in the top 100 best jobs in America. Their job is to rehabilitate patients from
either accidents or disabilities. Physical Therapy is one of many different kinds of therapy. Some other examples would be:
Occupational Therapy, Respiratory Therapy, Speech Therapy, etc... The average salary for a Physical Therapist is $92,000 per
year. The lowest in this occupation is around $57,000 and the highest is $92,000. The job of a Physical Therapist is in high
demand and would be a great field to look into. For Physical Therapists, there are all sorts of promotions and different titles that
you can gain. MPT - Master of Physical Therapy, DPT - Doctor of Physical Therapy, MSPT - Master of Science in Physical
Therapy, PhD - Philosophy Doctor in Physical Therapy.
Education
In order to work as a Physical Therapist, one must first graduate from a physical therapist educational program with a master's or doctoral degree. Coursework
includes biology, chemistry, and physics, as well as specialized courses such as biomechanics, neuroanatomy, human growth and development, manifestations of
disease, examination techniques, and therapeutic procedures. The top 10 schools for Physical Therapy are:
Before you can become a Physical Therapist, you must also pass a National and State licensing examination. You could also become a Physical Therapy Assistant
before deciding to take on the full job.
A Day in the Life of a Physical Therapist
Physical Therapists provide services that restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain, and prevent or limit permanent physical disabilities. On a typical day a
physical therapist will: Examine patients' medical histories; Test and measure the patients' strength, range of motion, balance and coordination, posture, muscle
performance, respiration, and motor function; Determine patients' ability to be independent and reintegrate into the community or workplace after injury or illness;
Develop treatment plans describing a treatment strategy, its purpose, and its anticipated outcome. They will also work with patients on exercises and activities to
strengthen muscles, improve mobility, and relieve pain. They will generally record the strength and range of motion the first time they see a patient and add more
records as they progress so as to look for improvements. A key requirement to being a Physical Therapist is that you have to be willing to move patients directly.
I interviewed my Physical Therapist whom I have been working with over the course of my injury. Here are my questions and her responses:
Physical Therapy Interview
For how long have you been a Physical Therapist?
I have been a Physical Therapist for almost 28 years.
What inspired you to become a PT?
I wanted to have a good education so that I could get a good job, I wanted to do something science related, and be able to work with people. I also wanted to have a job that not everyone can have—is unique to me.
What kind of education did you have?
I earned my Pre-PT at UWSP, my PT degree at UW Texas Medical Branch, and earned my Doctoral degree at Des Moines University in 2010.
Did you originally want to be something other than a PT?
Yes. I started out wanting to be a paper scientist, but then discovered that I wanted to work with people more.
Where all have you worked?
I have worked at a hospital in Oshkosh, in Richmond, Virginia, Kimberly Clark, in Stevens Point at PT and Associates.
Is there a certain dress code that you have to follow?
Just casual business clothes.
What is your typical day like?
I see patients every 40 minutes. There is paperwork that must be done and occasional projects.
About how many patients do you see every day?
I see anywhere between 8-14 patients in a day.
What is the most common injury that you have patients come to you with?
The most common is probably low back pain.
What is your favorite type of injury to work with?
I like working with a variety of injuries but mostly more orthopedic ones.
What are the ups and downs of a being a Physical Therapist?
The ups for me are being able to establish relationships with my patients and watching how they improve over time. The downs are having to work with insurance companies
and doing all of the paperwork.
Do you ever have to travel for your job?
I travel occasionally for meetings.
Have you ever had to see a Physical Therapist yourself?
I have. I had to see one for my neck and then again for arthritis in my thumb.
Do you have any goals for the future?
I guess some of my goals for the future are to continue to learn as much as I can about PT so that I can better help my patients. I may try to become an “Orthopedic Clinical
Specialist” and I hope to become more involved again in my professional association. I have served on the board of directors for the Wisconsin Physical Therapy Association
and was a chairperson for our district. I also was on the conference committee until last year. So, getting back into some type of leadership or volunteer service is important.
Have you ever had a patient who has really surprised you by recovering from a serious injury and surpassed the doctor’s expectations?
I cannot recall having anyone that was (for example) paralyzed and then able to walk again when the doctors did not expect them to. However, on a smaller scale, I have seen
lots of patients with pretty serious injuries (from falls or car accidents) that through a lot of hard work are able to get back to their normal lives again.
Vocabulary: Common Terms
As patients work to gain their range of motion back, the different stretches and movements of the body all have special names. Here is a list of some different
movements and how exactly they work:
- Pronation – is a rotational movement of the forearm at the radiulnar joint. Pronation will move the palm of the hand from an anterior-facing position to a posterior-
facing position without an associated movement at the shoulder.There are also many other terms used in the PT world and other terms that may be useful to know as well. Here they are:
Injuries and the Recovery Process
There are all sorts of injuries and disabilities that patients may have but some of the most common are:
During our project, my group and I have planned to use an injury that I have as an example. Under this heading, I am going to explain what it is that I went through and
what the recovery process has been like for me:
Last spring, on May 8, I broke my left elbow while playing soccer: I broke my radius, ulna, birth plate, stretched my ulnar nerve, and on top of all that I dislocated my
elbow. All it really was is bad luck because I landed right on top of it. He game was being played in Wisconsin Rapids so an ambulance picked me up and took me to
the hospital there. They put an ivy in my right arm to help ease the pain and put my arm in between two boards connected with this band thing to keep my arm still.
My mom was right by my side through it all. When I arrived at the hospital, the people in the Emergency Room took x-rays of my arm. That took the longest half-hour
or so of my life! My arm hurt so much and I was just so scared. They told me, or rather my mom and I just went with it, that I would have to be taken to Madison to
see a specialist. And so I rode down to Madison in an ambulance.
That night the doctors popped my arm back into place. It was by far the weirdest experience I have ever had. They didn’t put me all the way to sleep so I could kind of
tell what was going on, but I didn’t feel anything. It was just plain weird. After I was fully awake again and my arm was no longer dislocated, there was a lot less pain. I
spent the night in the hospital with my mom. The next morning I had surgery and my dad drove down to be able to be with me. During the surgery a surgeon fixed me
up and put a screw in my arm to hold everything in place while it healed. I was really scared beforehand but everything turned out to be just fine. While I was still in the
hospital recovering from surgery I had some of the silliest nurses. I have to say: They might even be sillier than Mr. Mlsna!!! They were great because they were able to
make me smile despite the situation. I was especially fortunate because I used to live in Madison so some old friends of mine came to see me.
Before I was able to be sent home I had to be able to:
Once I had accomplished these I was sent home. My arm wasn’t in a cast, but it was all rapped up and stuff. They didn’t put a cast on me yet because my arm was
really swollen and they don’t want it to be too tight or loose. The next week or so I spent at home resting. Two weeks later I went back to Madison and they
unwrapped my arm. It felt so weak and hurt once the support was taken away but it also felt good to be able to get a bit of fresh air. Then they put a cast on. I chose
the color PINK! They put a cotton sleeve over my arm before winding the pink strips up my arm. It comes really warm and flexible so it is easy to manipulate and then
they hold it firmly while it dries to be really hard.
About two weeks after that, I went back to Madison to get the cast taken off. They use this saw cutter thing that sounds like a really loud vacuum. It has a blade about
3 or 4 inches long that swings back and forth really fast. The way it is made, it will only cut through materials that it can grip onto and not skin. If you touch the blade
with your finger when it is on, it won’t to a thing to you. When they cut off the cast, it gripped onto the material it begins to break it apart. After they stopped the
machine and had pried the cast the rest of the way off of my arm, my arm felt like it was still vibrating from the impact! Next they put another cast on me (this time I
chose green) only to have it cut right back off again. They wanted only half of the cast so they would be able to make a removable splint for me. Yay!!! I would now be
able to take a bath without having to wrap my arm up in a plastic bag! I would actually be able to soak my arm in warm water too! And so I spent my summer going
through this whole mess. As I was becoming comfortable with my arm out of the splint I began Physical Therapy. This is what my summer consisted of:
At the end of the summer I went in for an outpatient surgery to get my screw removed from my arm. They even gave it to me after they cleaned it off!
It was especially hard for me when school started because I had to learn to write with my less dominate hand: my right hand, since I was still working on gaining
strength and mobility in my left hand and arm. Right before Christmas I had another surgery because the doctors realized that there was extra bone growth were my
arm had healed after taking a MRI of my arm. The MRI machine was this really big, white tube that takes pictures of injuries from a different angle. After the surgery, I
spent that weekend recovering and then started up with intense PT. I had to go every single day except on the weekends and my mom and I tried to fit in 8 or 9
stretching sessions a day at home on our own. I am still working to this very day to be able to get my full range of motion back. The doctor said that I should just keep
working at it. One thing he has learned about elbows is: They don’t really like to be messed with and if I just keep persisting, it might let up a bit. He doesn’t expect
me to get back a full range of motion, but I am going to try to get as close to that as I possibly can.
Faith LeMay
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Information:
Job Outlook: Salary, Promotions...etc.
Salary Ranges/Employment
Wisconsin salary range: $54,060 to $94,160
National salary range: $52,170 to $105,900
Salary: ranges
Salary Notes
An individual employee's position within this salary range is affected by the following factors:
the institution type and location
the employee's training, education, experience, and job responsibility.
Most employers offer standard fringe benefits such as paid vacation and sick leave, health insurance, and retirement plans. The self-employed determine their own benefits.
Salary does not include premium pay for overtime, work on weekends, holidays or late shifts.
Factors Affecting Employment:
Employment is affected by the age and general health of the population, the funding of services by insurance plans and government programs, and advances in medical technologies.
Wisconsin Employment Info
Number Employed in 2008: 4,520
Expected Employment in 2018: 5,260
Percent Expected Employment Growth, 10 years: 16%
Expected Annual Openings, Growth and Turnover: 130
Source: Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
Education
Students should take courses that meet college entrance requirements. Helpful high school courses would include Anatomy and Physiology, Biology, Chemistry, and Geometry.
Physical therapists must have a bachelor's degree in physical therapy. Many employers require applicants to have completed a six-month clinical internship. Most physical therapists complete this clinical internship as a component in a master's degree program. Physical therapists must be licensed in the state where they are employed. A doctoral degree is required for university faculty positions.
Employers contact colleges for qualified applicants. Some advertise position openings in newspapers and professional publications. They also hire qualified individuals who apply to them directly. Government positions are posted in civil service listings.
Experienced physical therapists may become chief physical therapists, department supervisors, or move into hospital management. Some specialize in areas such as sports medicine or early intervention specialists who work with infants from birth to three years of age. Others contract their services to individual clients.
A Day in the Life of a physical therapist...
"I've always been interested in medicine," says physical therapist Robyn Pester. "I grew up on a farm and originally I wanted to be a veterinarian. I would catch injured animals and nurse them back to health. I also played lots of sports, so I was very interested in athletic training."
"When I was in high school, I read a magazine article about athletic trainers. I learned that it involved medicine, sports and working with athletes. At the time, those three things were what I loved most," Pester says.
Before she became a physical therapist, Pester attended the University of Montana, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Health & Physical Education with an emphasis on athletic training. She became a professional athletic trainer in 1986, working at a high school and later in a sports medicine clinic.
According to Pester, athletic trainers have a number of responsibilities involving the prevention, evaluation and treatment of athletic injuries. They also help athletes maintain their health by providing them with nutritional counseling and rehabilitation, strength and flexibility programs.
Pester enjoyed her work as a trainer, but decided to pursue a career in physical therapy after working alongside physical therapists at the sports medicine clinic.
"I liked the fact that physical therapists not only treated sports injuries, but other types of injuries as well," she says. What intrigued her was their "joint mobilization" and "soft tissue mobilization" techniques, which "are very effective in decreasing a patient's pain and restoring the range of motion to an injured limb."
She returned to college and earned a bachelor's degree in Physical Therapy in 1994. Now, as a physical therapist, her patients range from "people with specific problems such as back, ankle or knee injuries, to elite athletes, to those suffering from neurological diseases such Parkinson's disease. I also see a variety of ages."
When examining a patient, Pester looks for "functional relationships," such as the connection between different joints in the leg. "People frequently complain of pain in a particular area, like in their ankle or knee," she says. "If you only treat that area, you're not always successful. You've got to look at them bio-mechanically and be a detective."
For example, if she's treating a patient with a knee problem, she may ask the patient to squat so she can observe rotation not only at the knee, but also the hip and ankle. She also feels the joints and muscles as patients move them to determine which areas are the most painful.
"If I were to assume it's just a knee problem, I might target all of my treatment just at the knee," she says. "But I may find that it's actually the hip joint that isn't moving correctly. If I treat the hip joint, it will help the knee because of all the muscular and ligamentous connections between the two joints. You constantly have to be thinking of the relationships between different areas of the body."
"Good thinking skills are important," Pester says. "Especially being able to think three-dimensionally, because you have to visualize the body from all different angles."
Good listening skills are important when a patient describes his or her symptoms. It's also helpful to remember that a patient's injuries can have emotional as well as physical effects. "You may have a patient who seems hostile or sad because of their condition, but don't take it personally. It's quite frustrating to have an injury," she says, adding that the best way to break the ice is to be sympathetic and understanding. "Present yourself in a manner that is professional but also calm, warm and comforting so you can make people feel safe."
Pester enjoys seeing a change in her patients as they become healthier. "It's nice because once you put the patient at ease, you can see them begin to blossom as they come out of their pain," she says. "You might be working with someone who's very crabby when their treatment begins, but as you start to help them feel better, you've got this wonderful person who ends up being in your life for years."
Pester typically works from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. She usually sees seven or eight patients a day and treats them for one hour at a time. She also spends eight to ten hours a week on insurance-related paperwork.
Pester believes the best introduction to a physical therapy career is to get a firsthand look at what professionals do. "You could call a physical therapist and ask if you can come in to observe their work," she says, adding that it's often possible to set up appointments with the help of high school counselors. For college students who are already studying physical therapy, an internship or practicum that involves more hands-on work is an effective way to gain some experience.
A master's degree in physical therapy is now usually required to become a professional, according to Pester. To prepare for a master's program, "it's important to have a strong science background and to be familiar with the body's anatomy, or you're really going to struggle," she says. "Biology, zoology, exercise and movement science, or anything in the sciences will be really helpful in getting started."
Key Vocabulary/Terms
Physical Therapy-
Physical therapy is used to help control/improve a number of chronic conditions like Arthritis, Back pain, types of neck pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, and other chronic conditions. Physical therapists also educate people on the importance of body mechanics and proper posture, and use a number of ways to help people improve or restore their balance, range of motion, coordination, mobility, strength, flexibility and endurance.BALANCE- state of body equilibrium. Equal disposition of weight.
Baps- Biomechanical Ankle Platform System that helps heal your ankle injuries.
COLD THERAPY- A type of therapy that can heal your back pain by applying cold packs and cold braces to the body.
DEBRIDEMENT- medical removal of dead,damaged or infected tissue to improve the health potential of the remaining tissue.
ELECTRODES-a conductor in which electric current can pass through that can be worn in a pack on your knee, back, or problem areas to help improve your muscle health.
ELECTROTHERAPY-is the use of electrical energy as a medical treatment. The term electrotherapy can apply to a variety of treatments, including the use of electrical devices such as deep brain stimulators for neurological disease.
EVALUATION-kind of like the check up. Your physical therapist would check you over and evaluate you, make sure that you are doing well.
EXERCISE-Activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness.
GAIT BELT- A gait belt is a device used to transfer people from one position to another or from one thing to another. For example you would use a gait belt to move a patient from a standing position to a wheelchair.
LUMBAR STABILITY-when the lower part of your back is stable, and well, but if the condition decreases then your back could start to hurt, and become weak and injured.
RANGE OF MOTION- Distance of a movable object, to see how far it can go according to the angle of the object, or a body part. Your arm has a full range of motion, but if you injure it, it can lose some of that range of motion and not be able or bend/move up and down all the way anymore.
THERAPY BALL-a big blow up ball that people with back or neck injuries can lay on and do all different types of exercises to help there conditions.
THERAPY BAND-a colorful stretchy band that you can use to help you recover during PT by stretching and doing specific exercises to accustom your body.
Laura Poikonen
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PHYSICAL THERAPY RESEARCH
--> I couldn't get the actual research below double spaced, but I did get it on the attached documents above. My VOCABULARY heading and pictures are also attached above because I couldn't get them pasted here.JOB OUTLOOK: Salary, promotions...etc.
On average a physical therapist works about 40 hours per week. An average yearly salary is about $60,000, but the national range is $53,000-$108,000 per year. Here, in Wisconsin the yearly salaries range from about $55,000 to $94,000 (of 2009.) These ranges may be affected by a person’s experience, education and location or institute. Once an entry level therapist you may get promoted to a median or even an advanced level therapist. An entry level physical therapist makes about $55,120 per year in Wisconsin, but nationally it’s a little lower at $53, 620. At median level in Wisconsin it is $73,420, nationally about $76,310. Finally, at the advanced experience level, you may earn up to $94,120 in Wisconsin, and $107,920 nationally per year.
EDUCATION
To be a “real” (or legal) physical therapist, you need to graduate a college with a Bachelor’s Degree or higher; you also need a granted license (different locations may require other Degrees in order to be accepted). Your academic experiences may also affect your ability to work in the physical therapy range. Some helpful classes to take while still in school are physiology, anatomy, biology, geometry, and chemistry. These will help you prepare for the responsibility. Some examples of your local employers could be hospitals, nursing homes, schools, clinics, and rehabilitation centers. Most therapists work in hospitals.
The best school to attend for physical therapy—according to Physical Therapy Schools Info assessment surveys—is the University of Southern California. The surveys concluded that this university offers the best programs and classes to take for physical therapy in the U.S. More info at http://physicaltherapyschoolsinfo.org/top-physical-therapy-schools/.
INJURIES & THE RECOVERY PROCESS
Physical therapy is a type of treatment that helps you when health problems make it difficult to move around and do everyday things. This treatment is normally expressed as different activities, exercises, and stretches that help your problem area. There are many forms of physical therapy that acquire to different issues such as back pain, tendon/ligament problems, muscular tears, spinal issues, arthritis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), other injuries and problems.
A physical therapist assists you with the treatment process to recovery. They may help or teach you with the exercises you perform that make it easier to do everyday things. A therapist may examine you and set up a plan according to your difficulties. He or she will then help you with your flexibility, stretches, endurance, balance, and pain. They will teach you the activities required for your well being so you can do them by yourself. Some techniques they may use to help are usage with water, heat, or cold to stimulate/calm your nerves. A third of adults 65 or older fall in the U.S. yearly. About 30% of those falls cause moderate to severe injuries. Physical therapy can help in reducing these numbers. PT helps patients regain their balance and/or range of motion to prevent these slips.
The best school to attend for physical therapy—according to Physical Therapy Schools Info assessment surveys—is University of Southern California. The surveys conclude that the university offers the best programs and classes to take for physical therapy in the U.S. More info at http://physicaltherapyschoolsinfo.org/top-physical-therapy-schools/.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PHYSICAL THERAPIST
While treating a patient, you want to examine not just the part of body needing treatment, but the entire area of the problem spot. Treating only to the area of pain or discomfort doesn’t always solve the problem. This is because the ligaments in our bodies connect joints so they kind of work together too. This, for example, means that if a patient has a knee problem a therapist may want to help them in stretching the entire leg parts to help the knee function better altogether. You always want to be thinking of the entire body parts’ relations to one another and view the body from all angles.
AN INTERVIEW WITH REAL PHYSICAL THERAPIST—Matthew Scherer, Medical Specialist Corps, United States Army, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington D. C.
Typical Day Schedule:
“What I like least about my work are the long hours. There is so much to accomplish during the day. The long hours away from home can weigh heavily on my family. The rewards however, far outweigh the disadvantages. The toughest part is over - the 19 months I spent crunching out graduate work at Baylor. That was really tough!”